


Loose Ends

by muchmoremajestic



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Timeline, Angst with a Happy Ending, Discussions about Howard and how much he sucks, Getting Together, Injury, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, sorry about the Bush era war talk that's just when this story is set
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-18 17:47:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19339492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muchmoremajestic/pseuds/muchmoremajestic
Summary: Steve Rogers was found in late 2007 after being on ice for over sixty years. In trying to find closure with his past, a few months later he comes across Tony - at the moment a charismatic billionaire responsible for the world's most lucrative weapons manufacturing company while the country is at war fighting terrorist cells in Afghanistan. When Steve reaches out to Tony to get closure on his friendship with Tony's father Howard, how will Tony react? Can Steve find the closure that he's looking for?





	Loose Ends

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! This is an alternative timeline MCU where Steve is found before Tony becomes Iron Man. 
> 
> My prompt: By some fluke of time travel or because he was defrosted earlier, or maybe just because they meet around the same time but under different circumstances, Steve first meets Tony when Tony is in the celebrity/Merchant of Death persona we saw in the beginning of Iron Man. This could go in many directions and I'd be happy to see pretty much any of them. Maybe this version of Tony is openly flirty/angling for a one night stand because he doesn't know who Steve is besides a pretty blonde, or maybe Steve is immediately put off by the persona but also gets overprotective when reporters try to get close to Tony. Maybe some tropey Vegas shenanigans if actually set in that early part of Iron Man. If going the one night stand route, bonus if Steve gets the routine dismissal from Pepper the next morning.

The news story broke globally, as expected when a team of scientists finally found Captain America’s crashed ship in the ice. He had been a legend in the ’40s, and the tales of his adventures with the Howling Commandos would almost be considered myth if it hadn’t helped conclusively lead to the defeat of the Red Skull and the end of World War II.

The fact that they finally found the ship would have been breaking news in itself.

But more importantly, somehow, someway - Captain America was still alive. Frozen in ice, but due to the super serum, he was still alive.

Tony was sitting in his mansion, drinking a scotch on the rocks and finally going over some reports for Pepper, when the news broke.

“Sir, I believe there’s a news story that may be of interest to you.” JARVIS’s voice rang out across the living room. JARVIS turned on the TV and Tony watched the flashing images across the screen.

Tony had heard hundreds of stories, too many by his count, of how great Captain America was from Howard. Stories of their time together in the war, and how Howard ran the search for Rogers once his plane went down. Stories of how Steve Rogers was brave, noble, strong, caring, kind, determined, honorable, etc., etc., and that Tony could do a lot to be more like him. Frankly, it was not an uncommon sentiment most boys with fathers Howard’s age had heard growing up, but it was certainly more annoying when your dad was there to help the day they injected Rogers with the damn serum.

Tony thought he had heard enough about Captain America to last him a lifetime.

“All that searching in the ocean and he never bothered to look in the ice. Huh.” Tony took a sip of his scotch and went back to looking at Pepper’s reports.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Steve was on his fourth punching bag of the afternoon. Inside the gym, with no windows or noise or distraction - it was the one place Steve felt like he could focus.

It had been a few months since he had been pulled from the ice and thrust into a brand new world. It might as well have been a different planet.

The Cold War, disco, space travel, Vietnam, Elvis, home computers, nuclear bombs, video games, the Civil Rights Movement - Steve had been on ice for that and thousands of things more. Steve was delighted with much of it - the improvements in medicine that saved millions of lives; the victories in the fight for civil rights and justice occurring globally; a growing sense of a global community now that people were connected with the internet.

He had met a few people in the past few months; mainly employees of SHIELD, the organization that had taken him in for observation, training, and assignments. Once he had learned that it had been started by Peggy, with help from Howard, he didn’t hesitate to join.

But as nice as everyone at SHIELD was, it didn’t make up for the incredible ache in his heart over everyone he had lost. He was glad there had been so much progress in the future, but it didn’t take the sting out of leaving behind the past. His friends had always had his back, were always in his corner, and together they helped save so many others.  He mourned the years of their lives he missed out on.

He needed to reach out. But to who? All of his former teammates, every one from his old neighborhood - everyone Steve Rogers had even known from his old life was either dead or in their twilight years.

He knows. He had checked.

If Steve missed on all those years, the least he could do was find out what had happened while he was gone. If he couldn’t go back, he could at least get some closure.

He had gotten some assistance from Nick Fury. Fury was a lot of things - quiet, serious, cautious - but Steve could tell he was also a good and kind man. When Steve had asked for help gathering information about the people he used to know, Fury gladly helped make arrangements where he could. And with his help, Steve had gotten a lot of answers.

Peggy Carter was almost in her 90’s and in a nursing home. She had dementia, couldn’t remember much, but had lived a long and happy life with a man she married in the fifties who had passed three years before Steve was defrosted.

Bucky, well, Bucky had already passed before Steve went into the ice.

The other Howling Commandos all had amazing lives after the war; some also joining SHIELD, and some returned home, receiving the rightful hero’s welcome before retiring and starting families. He reached out to their surviving relatives, and spoke to some by email or over the phone. He had even been able to meet up in town with the grandson of Jim Morita, who had moved to New York after the war. His grandson was now an educator in Queens.

And Howard? Howard certainly continued to live an interesting life after the war; he worked closely with Peggy after she founded SHIELD. He got married, built a tech empire and eventually had a son. Howard and his wife had been killed in a car crash in 1991, and his son had taken over Stark Industries after his death.

Steve has managed to make contact with the living relatives of almost all of his friends and associates - except for Howard. Howard’s son Tony was the best living connection to him that Steve could find. And he was also the richest and most sought after man in the world.

Steve had done some research on Tony Stark but asked Fury for his thoughts. “I know he’s a busy man, but do you think he’d be interested in meeting with me? I would just love to talk to him about Howard for an hour or so. It’d be nice to get some closure there.”

Fury laughed. “Yeah, good fucking luck with that.”

 

* * *

 

“I _just_ got back from Tokyo on Monday,” Tony stared at Pepper, slightly annoyed. He tapped the wrench he was holding against his knee.

“And now you have a presentation for investors in Mumbai on Thursday,” Pepper responded as she flipped through her notes.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Why couldn’t this have been arranged while I was already on the other side of the Pacific Ocean? And why me? Over six billion people in the world and nobody else is capable of giving a powerpoint?” Tony watched Pepper scan his face; she was trying to get a read on him. Yes, he was a little annoyed, but not really. He pouted.

Pepper caught it right away. “Sorry, Tony. Stark Industries investors want to see a Stark and well,” Pepper said as she scanned the workshop, “I don’t see any other Starks around here so I think it has to be you.”

Tony smiled. Pepper put down a stack of folders on the table beside him.

“I gotta find a faster way to travel across the world,” Tony said, opening the top folder and glancing at the contents.

“There’s also going to be a tech conference in Las Vegas this weekend. You’ve had an invitation but haven’t responded yet.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “Who’s the keynote speaker?”

“Justin Hammer.”

Tony snorted. “Why didn’t you tell me the circus was coming to town? You know how I feel about clowns.”

“You could skip it. You are supposed to go back to Vegas in a couple of weeks for the awards presentation anyway and there’s still plenty to do here this weekend inste-”

He grinned. “Oh, no, I’m absolutely going to go to Vegas. A large tech conference? I should be there. Make a press release that I’ll be appearing at this thing. I want some noise.”

“Just enough to outshine a certain keynote?”

“Oh, Pepper. Me? I would never,” Tony said with a huge grin.

 

* * *

 

 

Steve was at his desk at SHIELD’s New York office, wasting time browsing the internet. His life was already strange enough, but he also happened to have a job where they wouldn’t let him do anything.

“Still a bit too soon for you to go out into the field,” Agent Coulson said. “I’ll let you know when you have a mission.” Steve liked Coulson from the first time they met; a little eager, but Coulson was clearly dedicated to his job and keeping people safe. Most of the people at SHIELD seemed pretty dependable, but agents like Coulson who acted like this was a calling instead of just a job, were always a rare gem to find.

Without a mission, Steve spent most of his days alternating between the gym, wandering around the city and reading up on what he had missed. He was browsing the internet, following down long rabbit holes. Earlier in the morning, he had started reading about baseball teams in the 1980s and three hours later had ended up on an article about an extinct type of bee.

An email alert popped up with a press release from Stark Industries. Steve had signed up for all kinds of alerts regarding Stark; it bothered Steve, to have that loose end, understanding what had happened to Howard but not how he got there. The young man he knew hardly seemed like the kind to settle down and start a family. Although while the family was a surprise, the tech empire was not. And from what Steve could tell his son had taken what Howard started and ran with it; the world had been revolutionized because of Stark tech. The story left Steve impressed and with a lot of questions. He knew he wasn’t entitled to Tony’s time or even an answer; but surely it couldn’t hurt to try, right?

Steve hit print before he even finished reading the press release. It stated that Tony would be appearing at a tech conference in Las Vegas that weekend. Steve grabbed it from the printer and walked over to Fury’s office.

When he got there, Steve first awkwardly stood in the doorway for a moment before giving a gentle knock on the door. Fury looked up, saw the papers in Steve’s hands, and silently extended a hand to receive them. Steve walked into the office and handed the papers to Fury, who read the release and sighed. One way or another, Fury was going to have to learn that if Steve was one thing, it was determined.

“Listen, if it’s that important to you, I’ll make some calls and arrange some accommodations for you to go out to Vegas. But that doesn’t mean Stark is going to give you the time of day. Trust me, I’ve tried.”

“You’ve met him?” Steve asked.

“We’ve been monitoring the work of Stark Industries. You know, people like to call Stark the ‘Merchant of Death’ given the absurdly powerful weapons he’s created. So it helps to know what kinds of weapons the world’s best weapons manufacturer is capable of making. I know I don’t have to tell you that the right tool can be incredibly dangerous in the wrong person’s hands.”

Steve frowned slightly. “Well, doesn’t he just contract with the U.S. military? How would any of those weapons end up in the ‘wrong hands’?”

Fury smiled. “War isn’t what it used to be, Captain.”

 

* * *

 

From the moment he arrived at the airport, Steve already had regrets. He had been clued in on modern airport security, but he hadn’t been expecting to be recognized so easily. He helped an elderly lady with a walker carry her luggage to the check-in desk.

Steve hadn’t mentioned his identity at all, but once they made it to the check-in desk the lady turned and said, “Thank you, Captain. You know, if my older sister Mary were still around, she’d be so jealous. She absolutely _adored_ you back in the ’40s.”

Steve blushed. “Aww, thank you,” he replied sheepishly.

“Oh, no, thank you for your help.”

Steve got back on the line and felt the heat of the stares of the other people on line behind him. And once again, on the security line. And again while boarding, looking straight ahead to avoid eye contact. And on the plane, as everyone watching him put a pregnant lady’s carry-on in the overhead bin.

He wished he had a dollar for every person that had stared at him from his apartment in Brooklyn to the hotel room in Vegas. But strangely enough, for everyone that recognized him, most didn’t say anything. A few asked for pictures; some older men thanked him for his service, but for the most part, Steve felt like a walking zoo exhibit.

Fury worked fast and managed to snag a last minute cancellation at the hotel the conference was in and a conference badge; so after Steve stopped by his room and refreshed, he made his way toward the conference.

He walked past many booths displaying new technology; new models of phones that were trying to mimic the Starkphone, which had been put on the market a year prior new types of digital displays; and even new cameras made for average consumers that could film in HD. Steve understood most of it with just a first pass, and would probably understand more if he had taken the time to examine everything, but he enjoyed what he saw.

Steve walked past some ballrooms with panels, including the Grand Ballroom where a man in glasses and a slim suit was cheerfully giving a speech to a not as enthusiastic crowd.

Steve thought finding Tony Stark would be much more difficult, but as it turned out, Tony was very easy to find. First, came the screaming.

“It’s him! He showed up!”

“Oh shit, I thought that was just a rumor -”

The murmurs quickly grew to cheers as Steve followed the crowd of people - some walking out of the grand ballroom - and turned a corner to see a mob of people at the bottom of a staircase surrounding the man Steve recognized to be Tony Stark. Steve stopped next to a row of potted plants to watch the scene. The crowd was buzzing with excitement, and Steve watched as a sea of people took out phones and digital cameras to snap a picture of Tony, who was standing on a landing in the middle of the staircase, right in the center of everything. It was the kind of hubbub that Steve had only ever seen given to movie stars, but he supposed that Tony’s wealth and genius made him a modern celebrity in his own right.

Steve could see Tony at a distance; surrounded by people, Tony was standing closest to a woman on his right and a man to his left. Steve knew it was impossible to make his way through a crowd like this, but if he could make himself noticed by Stark or one of his companions, Steve thought he might have a chance. Tony was preoccupied smiling for photos while the woman looked at her phone. The man was scanning the room, and when he looked in Steve’s direction, Steve made himself more visible, standing on his toes and waving strongly at the man.

Steve eventually got the man’s attention, who did a double take. Steve waved him over, and the man looked around him. Once it was obvious to him that Steve was beckoning him over, the man slowly walked away from Tony’s side, pushed his way through the crowd to Steve’s spot by the plants.

“You’re, uh, you’re Captain America, right?”

“Yes. Steve Rogers.” He extended a hand and the man shook it.

“Happy Hogan. How can I help you?”

“Okay, this might sound weird, but do you think it’s at _all_ possible for me to speak with Mr. Stark? Even if it’s just a few minutes. It’s entirely personal, I don’t want anything from him except a couple of answers to some questions I have.”

“Oh, I don’t know -”

“Could you please just ask? I would totally understand if he says no.”

Happy sighed. “Alright, I’ll go ask.”

“Thank you so much - I really do appreciate it.”

Happy approached Pepper and Tony. There was still a swarm of reporters flashing their cameras to take pictures and asking questions over each other.

“Hey, so Captain America is over by that plant and he wants to talk to you.”

Tony looked over Happy’s shoulder and sure enough, there was Captain America, looking down at his shoes as he stood amongst the ficus plants.

“What does he want?”

“Says he just has a couple of questions for you.”

“Did he come all the way out here just to talk to Tony?” Pepper asked.

“He didn’t _say_ that but, I mean, you think he’s here to look at new computer displays?”

Pepper turned to Tony. “You should go. It’s talking to him or blow more money on blackjack anyway. Besides, if you're seen walking around with Captain Rogers it’s good free press. Why not?” Pepper said.

Tony sighed. “Fine, sure. Whatever. Tell him to meet me at Cassera’s bar right off the Strip in an hour. Pepper, can you get me a table there?”

“Sure.”

Happy walked back over to Steve and gave him the details.

 

* * *

 

 

Eventually, hotel security made the crowd disperse and Tony went straight to the bar, even though he was early. Happy and Pepper had both offered to stay with him, but Tony waved them both off.

“I’ll be fine. He’s Captain America. The guy’s like 90. Probably needs to know how to connect his laptop to a printer,” Tony said, and pointing to Pepper, “so you go have fun,” and then pointing to Happy, “but not too much fun.” He winked and picked up the drink that had been placed in front of him. Happy and Pepper left, Happy to go play poker and Pepper to change and visit the hotel’s spa, leaving Tony alone.

 _What could he possibly want_ , Tony thought as he sipped some bourbon at his private table.

At exactly an hour after he had agreed to meet with Steve, Tony looked up to see Steve at the front of the bar, being directed inside by the hostess.

Tony had only gotten a distant glance at Steve when Happy talked to him; so when Steve walked into the bar right on time, it was the first real look Tony had gotten of the man.

From all the stories he had heard, the pictures and films he had seen, nothing did justice for how handsome Steve actually was. Piercing blue eyes, blond hair combed into a classic style, green button down shirt with the top button open and tucked into a pair of khaki pants with a brown belt that matched his brown shoes. Although Tony was positive it was unintentional, the stiff fabric of the shirt looked beautiful slightly taut over Steve’s biceps.

_Shit._

Steve walked over to Tony’s table. “Mr. Stark.” He extended his hand. Tony shook it. “Captain Rogers. Please, have a seat. And feel free to order whatever you want.”

Steve sat down and ordered a drink.

 

**************

Now that Steve was here, actually sitting across the table from the man he’d been dying to speak with, he was at a loss for words. It wasn’t that Tony was intimidating, but everything about him was _distracting_. His suit jacket had a flamboyant pattern of flower petals - appropriate given it was mid-spring, but still a lot; they were indoors, it was almost 11 pm and yet he was still wearing sunglasses; his fingers slowly moved over one of the two rings he was wearing. He was leaning back, one arm on the back of the plush chair he was sitting in; such a breezy posture yet Steve felt that behind those sunglasses, he was being studied like a hawk. There was energy coming off Tony in waves; it was almost as if Steve could feel Tony’s brain running at a million miles an hour. The clash between Tony’s energy and his demeanor was in itself, distracting. Fury called Tony “the Merchant of Death”, but the man sitting across from him just looked like an eccentric and slightly bored billionaire.

“I guess I first wanted to say thank you for meeting with me. I know you’re a busy man, and I appreciate it,” Steve said, taking a sip of his drink.

“How are you adjusting? I imagine that has to be quite a wake-up call.”

“I guess okay. It’s certainly a lot to take in.”

“Where do they have you?”

“Who?”

“Whatever government agency or military branch or secret organization swiped you up as soon as you defrosted. I can’t believe the US government would just let a super soldier out on his own. Do they have you with the army again? FBI? CIA?”

Steve realized in the moment that because most of his daily interactions were with SHIELD agents, he had no idea what the average person might know about the organization if anything at all. Or if Tony might know what SHIELD was given his own father worked there.

“I’m in New York, working with an organization your dad had actually worked for -” Steve had started to say, but stopped when Tony raised an eyebrow.

“What organization?”

 _Shit_ , Steve thought to himself. “Umm, do you know Nick Fury?”

“God knows. I meet a few hundred people every day. What does he look like?”

“You would definitely know if you’ve seen him before. Tall African-American man, bald - eyepatch?”

“OH. Yeah. I’ve met him before. He’s got some secret spy thing, right? Is that why you’re here? To recruit me, because I -”

“Oh no, absolutely not. I’m not here to recruit you. I had to basically beg Fury to let me come out here to see you.”

“So you’re telling me you busted Fury’s balls to come out here just to talk to me?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Cute and a pain in the ass. I like that. So what can I do for you, Cap?”

 

**************

 

Tony smiled seeing a slight blush appear across Steve’s face. He bit his lower lip at the quick passing thought of how pink Steve would get if Tony was in his lap, exchanging a deep kiss together as Tony ran his hands over Steve’s chest.

“I - I’ve been trying to catch up. With the world, everything that happened while I was under, but also just on a personal level. Trying to find out what happened to all my friends, what their lives were like. I was hoping we could possibly just talk about your dad for a bit.”

Tony couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Sorry to burst your bubble, Cap. But whatever nice memories you have of my father are best left alone, untainted.”

Steve looked a little confused. “Did - did you two not get along great?”

Tony laughed loudly. “Sure, you could say that.” He didn’t let on but Tony desperately wanted to change the subject. He was in Vegas, in a fancy bar alone with one of the most handsome men he’d ever seen. Why ruin that by talking about his asshole father?

Tony didn’t want to talk about Howard, but he wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Steve either. Besides, spending a night hanging out with Captain America in Vegas would probably be a story worth sharing with Rhodey over drinks and cigars, so why not?

“Wanna get out of here? We could go play poker over at Caesar’s."

“Oh, I don’t really have money to gamble -” Steve was interrupted by a laugh from Tony.

“Please. I’ll give you some money. You don’t even have to pay it back. Let’s just go have some fun. I bet they’ve been keeping you cooped up at their HQ, right?”

“Yeah, kind of.”

“Okay then. Let’s go live a little.” Tony finished his drink.

 

**************

 

Tony’s response to Steve’s questions about Howard just unlocked a million questions more, but he didn’t want to upset Tony by continuing to pry. And not knowing what else to do with himself, he followed Tony’s lead by quickly finishing his drink and leaving the bar with Tony.

But Steve wasn’t expecting what they found outside.

A large crowd of reporters and paparazzi were waiting for Tony to walk out. As soon as they stepped through the doorway, the cameras started flashing and questions were flung at Tony.

“Mr. Stark - Mr. Stark! Over here. What do you have to say about the recent presidential debates? Where candidates criticized your contracts with the military?”

“Mr. Stark! Are the rumors about your newest missile system true?”

“Mr. Stark, how will you respond to the claims that your weapons were used for mass killings in three villages in Afghanistan?”

Tony looked incredibly annoyed. “Candidates are free to criticize my contracts but the truth of the matter is my technology and weapons development have proven to save the lives of our soldiers by removing them off the battlefield and out of harm’s way. As for the tragedy in those villages, several bodies of international law, human rights organizations, and the governments of fifteen different countries all investigated and agreed those attacks were the work of the very terrorists our military is using my company’s weapons to defeat. So I don’t know what _you_ might be implying, but I know that the horrific attacks on those villages only further show that we must keep pushing those terrorist cells out. Go ask your damn candidates how else they’re planning to help those villages without me and my tools. I’d love to hear it. No more questions, please."

 

**************

 

Steve stood there silently, not knowing what to do with himself and trying to process the exchange he just saw in front of him. Unfortunately, in the time it took Steve to go over what had happened, the media finally noticed his presence.

He heard murmurs from the crowd at first.

“Wait, is that Captain America?” Steve snapped to attention.

“Yeah, it is! What’s he doing with Stark?”

A fury of camera shutters rang out as the flashes went off over and over in his direction.

“Captain Rogers, Captain Rogers! - how has it been adjusting to the 21st century?”

“Where are you working?”

“Are you on Myspace?”

Steve was frozen in place.

 

**************

 

Tony had no qualms with answering some questions, understanding that by putting out a press release that he’d be going to Vegas, that it wouldn’t be crazy to think reporters or paps would be waiting for him.

But once the media’s attention shifted to Steve, Tony whipped around to look at the other man. Question after question, the reporters kept hounding Steve and he looked immediately uncomfortable with all of the attention. Tony Stark, billionaire public figure,  was used to answering hounding reporters. It was obvious that Steve Rogers, old-time and recently thawed American legend, was not. And it was Tony’s fault they were here.

“Okay. We’re done here. Go away, shoo.” Tony stepped between Steve and the reporters and paparazzi and sent a message to Happy.

“Mr. Stark, Captain Rogers - how do you know each other?”

“Are you going to work with Stark Industries, Captain?”

Steve still hadn’t said anything.

“Jesus Christ, the man is barely defrosted and you’re jumping down his throat.” Tony grabbed Steve by the arm and started pulling him away.

“Mr. Stark, Captain Rogers”

Tony turned around and yelled, “I said _fuck off.”_

“Where are we going -” Steve said as Tony began to walk faster. The pack of photogs and reporters pursued them.

“Getting in a car and getting out of here. Too much heat.” An expensive car pulled up to the curbside. Tony opened the door and pushed Steve in, shutting the car door behind him. Tony walked around and got in on the other side.

“Happy, get us out of here.”

“Sure thing, boss.” Happy began to drive off, the pack of the press still flashing cameras and shouting questions.

 

**************

 

Steve exhaled as soon as the car door closed, not realizing he had been holding his breath. He didn’t say anything until the car had turned the corner.

“Where are you taking me?” Steve asked.

“To my place. Back in Malibu. Too much heat here.”

“Oh, I couldn’t -”

Tony turned to look at him. “Why not? You got anywhere else to be?”

Steve paused, not knowing what to say.

Tony pointed at himself. “You came out here to see me, right? Well, I’m going back to Malibu.”

“I have my stuff in a hotel room.”

“Okay. I’ll have someone pick it up and send it to my place.”

The car continued to drive to the airport and the two sat in silence, Tony staring ahead, Steve glancing at Tony. He was still wearing his sunglasses, even in the car, even at night. _It’s a shield_ , Steve thought to himself.

They arrived at the airport and boarded Tony’s plane, not saying much except for the offering of some snacks and drinks. The flight was very short, less than an hour, and soon Happy drove the two to Tony’s Malibu estate overlooking the ocean.

Steve stepped out of the car in awe at the size of the estate, the large white structure built into the cliff. He followed Tony inside, who quickly escorted Steve into the living room and handed him a glass of bourbon.

 

**************

 

Tony sat down across from Steve.

“So do you deal with that often?” Steve finally asked, breaking the silence.

“The media? Yes. Apologies, actually. I put out a press release that I’d be in town. Should have realized they’d be waiting. They can be a lot.”

“What were they talking about?”

Tony sighed. “My company has many military contracts. We make many different kinds of weapons, many that can be operated remotely, so soldiers don’t even need to be on the battlefield. You may have heard, right around the time you were found, there were three villages that were attacked by some terrorist cells. A lot of innocent people got hurt or killed, and _somehow_ someone tried to claim that my weapons were responsible. But we know that terrorists did the attack, so I don’t know where they’re getting this from. We only contract weapons with the US military.”

“That has to be tough. Dealing with them all the time. Even on the trip over here, I started getting a lot of people just staring at me.”

“It gets easier as you get used to it.”

“Does it though? It felt pretty damn isolating, honestly.” 

Tony sighed.

“Do you mind if I go change? I’ll just be a few minutes," Tony asked.

“Oh, sure. Please, go ahead. I don’t mind.”

“Thanks. You can ask JARVIS to put on some music if you want, he’ll be able to play whatever.”

“Okay.”

Tony turned and walked up to his bedroom and into his closet. He changed into a black tank top and grey lounge pants. It was an unusual and atypical choice for Tony, given he had company over, but he had the growing feeling that he’d have a more productive conversation with Steve if he was dressed down.

 

**************

 

Tony walked back into the living room. Steve blushed a little, finally getting a look at Tony’s face up close without sunglasses. He had big brown eyes surrounded by beautiful long lashes. Tony’s tank top showed off surprisingly defined arms and with the combination of the grey sweatpants and fluffy black hair, Steve couldn’t deny that Tony looked very attractive. It was so domestic, stripped down to the essentials. The billionaire playboy persona was left upstairs; this was, finally, just Tony.

Tony’s couch was long but Tony decided to sit about two feet away from Steve.

“I know I can be, well, _very_ rough around the edges. When you’re in my position, you kind of have to be, to keep people at a distance. But you came a long way to talk to me, so let’s talk. Ask what you want. It’s okay.”

Steve didn’t know where to begin.

“He changed my life, without intending it, you know. I was recruited at the Stark Expo.”

“Was that the one where he showed off the flying car?”

“Yeah. I actually was at that demonstration.”

“And how was it?”

“Um. Uh, not _great_ ,” Steve replied, to which Tony laughed. “And given the lack of flying cars everywhere I assume he never perfected it?”

Tony shook his head. “Nah. Those kinds of demonstrations were always about showing off ‘possibilities’, just stuff in theory. If you tell someone you’re trying to build a new kind of energy, they look at you like you’re a mad scientist out of a horror story. But if you demonstrate how it’s used, and people can see its applications, it becomes more tangible. Easier to digest. And makes people more likely to invest.”

“So Stark Industries. Umm, it’s incredibly impressive. What Howard built, and how far you’ve run with it.”

“Ahh, yes. His favorite baby.”

He looked at Steve’s face, which was turned in an almost painful expression. Not pity, but almost regret.

“The truth is, I didn’t get along with my dad. If you’re waiting to hear some tales of Howard as a loving, playful family man then I’m sorry, I don’t have any of those for you. He spent his life buried in his work; I spent my childhood off at boarding school. When I was little, he would call my mom so she could pull me out of his office because I was ‘disturbing him’. Whenever I was home, it always seemed like he had another business trip that took him around the world somewhere.

He spent the hours we did have together critiquing my every move. Maybe he was trying to prime me to eventually take over his company. I guess I understand why, now, but it doesn’t change the fact that I don’t remember really having a moment with him where we weren’t at odds.

I don’t even remember a time where he ever told me he loved me, Steve. And then he died. I really do wish I had something better to tell you, but that’s the truth.”

Steve looked down at the floor for a moment.

“You should know - I probably am not actually allowed to tell you, but you should still know - when you asked earlier, about where they’re keeping me? It’s SHIELD, it’s like an espionage and counter-terrorism agency. It was founded by Peggy Carter -”

“Aunt Peggy?” Tony moved slightly back in shock.

“You - you know Peggy Carter?”

“She’s a close friend of the family. Basically, like family for me. You knew her in the war, right?”

“Yeah. We were - close,” Steve said, struggling to find the right word. The look on his face told Tony everything he needed to know.

“I’m sorry,” Tony said.

“Thanks. Well, umm, after the war, she founded SHIELD, and a bunch of scientists were recruited among many other talented people. Your dad included. For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t be so sure that all of those ‘business trips’ were related to Stark Industries.”

Tony stared out in silence for a moment.

“That - that’s not to say that how you were treated was justified. It absolutely is not. I wish I had been around. I absolutely would have put Howard in his place had I known he was treating his son like garbage.” Steve paused, hearing himself get a bit angry. He collected himself and continued.

“Listen, I don’t know what your relationship what your parents was really like. But I do know what it’s like to lose them at a young age. It changes you, no matter what your relationship was. I’m sorry you had to go through all that. And I’m sorry that Howard didn’t seem to treat you with the love and respect you deserve. Whether he was away on SHIELD missions or work for Stark Industries, it’s still disappointing to hear that he acted like that. It’s not an excuse. You deserved better, Tony.” Steve reached out and put his hand on Tony’s arm as a gesture of support.

Tony knew it wasn’t an effect of the serum that had made him pour his heart out to Steve, but it sure as hell felt like it. Tony rarely opened up to anyone, let alone someone he’s known for all of four hours. They sat in silence, studying each other’s faces. Tony felt his heart flutter and his stomach do a little flip. What a luxury it was to just be heard, not judged or pitied. However long he was in the cold, however harsh and fast and unforgiving this new world was, Steve had not forgotten how to be kind. 

“Thank you, Steve. That means a lot. And I’m sorry for what happened to you too. I can’t imagine what it must be like to just miss sixty years and miss out on seeing your friends and family live their lives.”

“Thanks. It’s - yeah. It’s been difficult. To have such a support system and just like that, they’ve all lived long fulfilling lives and I was asleep for all of it. A successful guy like you, you must have a lot of friends, you get it, right?”

“Absolutely. I would be devastated if I had been torn from my friends. Although it’s not as many as you’d think. I keep a pretty tight circle. It’s mainly me, Happy, my best friend Rhodey and Pepper. By choice. It’s easier that way.”

 

**************

 

The sunglasses. The outfit. Eagerly smiling for the camera. All of it a defense mechanism. A heavy shield Tony had no choice to carry.

Steve understood.

He stared Tony in the eye. “Would it really be so bad to have more people in your corner?”

 

**************

 

The words wormed their way into Tony’s chest, leaving an incredible ache.

Tony knew there was only one thing he could do.

He leaned in and closed the gap, kissing Steve softly on the lips. Steve eagerly returned the kiss, moving his hand up and running it through Tony’s hair. The kiss was so sweet and tender that Tony could feel himself melting. He threw his arms around Steve’s shoulders. They continued to kiss for a few minutes, finally pulling apart slightly. Tony turned and tucked his head against Steve’s chest as he was almost leaning on top of Steve.

After a moment, Steve spoke up. “Tony, I think you’re very handsome.”

“Had I known you thought that I would have put on something nicer.”

Steve ran his fingers down the ribbed texture of Tony’s tank. “No, I actually like this more.”

Tony fully climbed into Steve’s lap and kissed him again, feeling Steve’s strong hand begin to slide up his back under his shirt as his mouth opened and he started to use the tip of his tongue to begin to explore Steve’s mouth. After a moment, Tony felt Steve put pressure on his lower lip, which caused Tony to let out a little moan. Steve then paused and leaned a couple of inches back. He had a little blush across his face.

“Tony, I wanna spend the night with you.”

Tony hadn’t expected Steve of all people to be so forward, but he shared the sentiment. “Yeah, yeah. That’d be wonderful. I mean - you absolutely don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

“I know. I want to.” He laced his fingers in Tony’s and gave Tony a soft smile.

Tony stood up took Steve by the hand and walked to his bedroom. His usual trysts were full of fast momentum, a drunken tumble of moving hands and flying clothes being tossed about as he and his partner stumbled their way to his bed. But this time, the walk was slow and peaceful. Tony gave Steve’s hand a squeeze and felt a reassuring squeeze in return as he opened the bedroom door.

 

 

**************

 

Unlike the open white space of the living room, Tony’s bedroom was cozy and dark. Steve closed the door behind him as he walked in after Tony.

In his few months out of the ice, of the people he had met, Tony was the first that Steve felt he could honestly connect with. Someone who understood what it meant to be thrust into the center of attention. Who appreciated the few friends he did have, even if he didn’t think he deserved more. Steve could relate, missing his friends and feeling as if he had let them down somehow by missing out on the rest of their lives.

What a luxury it was to finally connect with someone in this modern world.

Steve pulled Tony into a deep kiss. Tony then looked Steve up and down and ran his hand across Steve’s chest. “You know, it’s 2008. You don’t have to stick with the hot high school history teacher look if you don’t want to.”

Steve laughed. “How do you know that’s not the look I was going for?” He smiled and kissed Tony again as Tony walked him back toward the bed.

Steve bounced onto the bed and Tony straddled Steve’s lap. Steve’s hands drifted around Tony’s waist as Tony began to unbutton Steve’s shirt. Tony opened the last button as Steve lifted Tony’s tank over his head.

When the shirt was clear of Tony’s head, he looked down. He ran his fingers along Steve’s abs, in quiet shock.

“Is there any way in which you’re not perfect?”

“I can’t make pancakes. Always mess up the timing. I burn the edges and leave the middle undercooked,” Steve replied, smiling as Tony let out a genuine laugh.

“Oh. Okay. Now I get it. You’re secretly a cheeky little shit. I love it,” Tony said with a huge grin.

Steve smiled, kissed Tony again and pulled down the waistband to Tony’s pants as they continued to strip each other; Tony first cupping the front of Steve’s pants to get a moan out of him before pulling at the zipper.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The next morning, Tony was in his garage, working on an old car as Dum-E beeped in the background and knocked over a tool chest. Tony didn’t have a hangover, but it didn’t mean loud crashing noises wouldn’t give him a headache. Something about bourbon always made him wake up extra early, and not knowing when Steve would wake up and being too bored to just lay there, he had crept out of bed, put on pajamas and tiptoed into the garage.

He knew Steve would be waking up soon. But Tony felt like he was forgetting something. It was a thought, just out of reach.

 

**************

 

Steve woke up, not hungover, but certainly confused. He wasn’t in his Vegas hotel room, but instead in a much comfier bed in a dark bedroom overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

He replayed the events of the night before in his head. Where was Tony?

Steve got out of bed, still naked, and started looking. “Tony?” Steve called into the master bathroom. Empty. Besides Tony, Steve noticed his clothes were also missing. He looked around the room and saw a few bathrobes hanging in the bathroom. He grabbed the longest one he could find (which even then barely kept him decent) and exited the master suite. He walked down the hallway back toward the main level.

 

**************

 

“Dum-E, did I forget something?” Tony asked as he twirled a screwdriver in his hands.

Tony got a bunch of beeps in response, amounting to an answer of “How would I know?”, which was fair.

“JARVIS, did I set any reminders for today?”

“No, sir. The next thing you wanted me to remind you about was for a few days from now, for planning a trip for alumni weekend with Lt. Colonel Rhodes.”

Tony looked around and spotted a stack of reports Pepper left on his counter.

 _Pepper._ Tony jumped up and raced out of the workshop.

 

**************

 

Steve reached the staircase, went down a couple of steps and called out again. “Tony?”

“Oh, good morning, Captain Rogers.”

Steve jumped at the sound of a woman’s voice and turned to see the woman who was standing with Tony on the staircase the night before. She was standing downstairs in the living room, with Steve’s luggage from the hotel a few feet away and a clear cleaner’s bag holding his clothes from the night before. Steve blushed and sheepishly tried to pull down the robe to cover him further.

“Your luggage and belongings are here. Your clothes from yesterday have all been cleaned and folded. There’s a car ready -”

She was interrupted by a door opening as Tony tripped through and rushed toward her, sliding on the floor in his socks and almost stumbling as he stopped by her side. “Ah, haha, oh no need for that Pepper,” Tony said as he looked up. “Steve, this is Pepper Potts, my personal assistant, who is just _so good_ at doing her job. Give us one moment?”

Tony turned around and saw Pepper giving him an incredibly amused look. Tony blushed, embarrassed, and pulled her aside.

“Why would you do the, uh, _protocol_ with Steve?’

Pepper laughed. “I didn’t realize you had brought _him_ home! I didn’t even know it was him until he walked down the stairs. Do you think I bother looking through your overnight guests’ belongings? JARVIS just told me you brought _someone_ back and there were no instructions _not_ to come here.”

Tony closed his eyes and nodded, resigned that he had made a too well-oiled operation between his AI and his perfect personal assistant.

“Okay, okay. You’re right. That’s on me. Thank you, Pepper. I’ve got it from here. Feel free to take the rest of the day off.”

“Alright. Thanks, Tony.” She grabbed her bag and began to walk out, but not before turning around to playfully throw his own words back at him. “You two have fun - but not too much fun.” She winked at Tony as he put his face in his hands and she left the mansion.

Tony turned around to look at Steve, who was still bashfully holding down the front of the robe and looking away at the ceiling.

Tony climbed the stairs. “Hey, uh, I’m really sorry about that. I woke up pretty early and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I went downstairs to not wake you. _Occasionally_ , I’ll have a nighttime guest and they usually want to leave in the morning anyway. So JARVIS lets Pepper know that someone needs their clothes cleaned and transportation. Uh, I forgot about that. Please don’t think I was trying to kick you out. I - I want you to stay. If you want to, of course.”

Steve looked at Tony, still a little pink. “It’s alright. And I want to stay too.” At that, Tony kissed him, cupping Steve’s face as he did.

“Do you have to be back in New York at a certain time? You can take my private jet whenever you do need to go.”

“My return flight from Vegas wasn’t supposed to leave until Monday night, so SHIELD won’t be expecting me back until Tuesday, I think.”

Tony smiled and reached for Steve’s hand. “Great - that’s great. We could hang out here if you like, or go out. Live a little. I could even teach you how to make pancakes.”

Steve smiled, taking Tony’s hand in his. “I’d like that.”

Tony took a moment and looked Steve up and down. “And I gotta say, I am loving this robe on you.”

“It barely covers me up.”

“Why do you think I like it?”

They shared a kiss as Tony walked downstairs to grab Steve’s belongings.

 

 

**************

 

The rest of the long weekend went by quickly, with Tony and Steve continuing to get to know each other. They spent time in Tony’s pool, driving down the Pacific Coast Highway, and eating at a few of Tony’s favorite spots.

The next evening, as Tony’s plane landed at JFK to drop Steve off, Tony put his arms around Steve. “This week is going to be very hectic at the labs. I’m going back to Vegas for an award presentation next weekend. And then I’ve got a business trip to Afghanistan the day after. I’ll be gone all weekend. Would you be free to get dinner next week? I’ll take you to my favorite place in Manhattan.”

“That sounds wonderful. I can’t wait.”

Steve turned to walk off the plane. 

"Steve," Tony called out. Steve stopped walking and turned to look at Tony. "I know it may not feel like it now, but you can make a home here. I'm not saying it would always be easy. But as crazy as this world is, there's space for you here, if you want to find it."

Steve smiled. "Thank you, Tony. I want to. I will. We will. I'm looking forward to it."

 

* * *

 

 

The news story broke globally, as expected when the world’s richest man and greatest inventor of a generation found himself kidnapped in Afghanistan.

Steve watched the news break on TV as Coulson ran into the common area and pushed past several SHIELD agents to get to Steve’s side.

“We have your first assignment, Captain.”

Given Tony’s high profile nature, connection to the weapons purchased and used by the US government, and the involvement of terrorists, several agencies were working in tandem to search for Tony and bring him home. Steve met many new people, including Tony’s best friend Rhodey, a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force whom Steve had heard about as he and Tony ate ice cream on a stop during their drive. Steve liked Rhodey instantly from the moment they met; even after their first conversation, Steve knew Rhodey was a brave as any of the Howling Commandos, and just as loyal and determined to complete his mission. Especially if that mission was saving Tony Stark.

Steve and Rhodey spent weeks hunting for clues. They learned through a ransom video that Tony had been taken by a group known as the Ten Rings, who had been responsible for terrorizing local communities near mountains and caves in a particular region of Afghanistan.

Steve was dropped near a village on the outskirts of a row of caves. Reports had come in of many unexplained explosions and a lot of fire. Steve arrived at the scene to see many broken and burnt weapons crates labeled “Stark Industries” and the charred bodies of several men that Steve recognized from the ransom video as Tony’s captors. Steve heard a noise behind him and quickly turned to see a teenage boy jump back in surprise. The boy raised his hands in the air.

“I’m not here to hurt you. What happened here?” Steve asked, one hand raised forward in a ‘halt’ signal.

The boy answered in a language Steve was unfamiliar with.

“Initial language detected: Dari,” Steve’s earpiece played into his ear. “Translation: I just saw what happened, but I’m not with them. I’m innocent.”

“Okay. I believe you. Are you okay? What happened here?” The translator played out the translation as Steve quickly lowered his hand and put his shield on his back as gestures of good faith.

The boy responded that he had been dragged away from his family by the Ten Rings to help carry boxes; that the man the group had captured was building the Ten Rings a bomb but instead he came out in a suit looking like a metal monster and used fire to melt the weapons and kill the men who took him before flying away. The boy pointed to the sky over Steve’s head.

“Did the metal man hurt anyone that wasn’t a part of the Ten Rings?” The boy shook his head, no.

“Are there other innocent people nearby that the Ten Rings hurt?” The boy nodded yes.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” The boy nodded yes again.

As much as he wanted to run off to find Tony, Steve relayed the new information to Rhodey’s team and took off with the boy, going to the aid of the victims of the Ten Rings.

 

**************

 

Steve couldn’t begin to describe the relief he felt when he got the call from Rhodey that they found Tony, alive and well amongst scattered pieces of a metal suit in the middle of the desert. He had been hurt - pretty badly, with a particular injury he would need debriefing on later - but they had Tony and he was safe. That was all that mattered.

 

**************

 

A few days later, Tony woke up slowly in a hospital bed in Kabul. He could hear the sound of Rhodey’s voice talking outside his room. A new ache across his torso, he looked down to see the glow of the mini-arc reactor implanted in his chest. The wound had been cleaned and the surrounding edges bandaged.

When he moved his hand to tap on the arc reactor, his fingers brushed against someone else’s. He looked to his side and saw Steve, a little cut and bruised, curled up in a chair asleep at his bedside with one arm outstretched, his hand out to hold Tony’s.

Tony smiled. Would it really be so bad to have more people in his corner? He slowly reached for Steve’s hand and held it as he went back to sleep.

 

 


End file.
